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Degree Progress
GSOARS Summary of Section The Graduate Student Online Academic Reporting System (GSOARS) for students is an online environment in which you can look at your academic and professional progress, create your CV, access and submit your academic information. It is also an interface to help you communicate with advisors and keep them informed about your degree development. You access the following link to learn how to use GSOARS: http://www.ncsu.edu/grad/current-students/gsoars-students.html Details It is important to note that you need to be assigned to a program within GSOARS before you can add your information. Email david_edelman@ncsu.edu with your unity ID to get started. Peer Advice: What Works/What Doesn't The process of feeding information into the system is time consuming. You do need to complete everything, so tailor the system to help with your own goals. Teaching Assistantship Summary of Section Teaching assignments are determined each semester by the program director and associate director, in consultation with departments. Various criteria are taken into consideration, including the department teaching/support needs, the availability of courses after faculty assignments, student qualifications (training, experience, evaluations), seniority in the CRDM program, history of opportunities and, finally, student preferences. The following is a list of steps to get the teaching assistantship in which you are interested: Details Think about why you want this assistantship Is it because you want to improve your teaching portfolio? Do you want to become more knowledgeable on the topic through the process of teaching? Once you know what you want from your teaching experience, it will be easier to identify which classes you would like to teach. Read through all the possible classes you can teach ''Communication courses: ''http://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/reg_records/crs_cat/dir_COM.html ''English courses:'' http://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/reg_records/crs_cat/dir_ENG.html Keep Organized In order make a strong argument as to why you should teach a class use an excel document to keep yourself organized, include the following columns: 1. Rank of class - rank the courses you want to teach most to least (can be numbered) 2. Course number, name, and description 3. When class is taught (see #4) 4. Statement about why you want to teach the course 5. Justification as to why you are qualified to teach this course 6. Professor “in charge” of the course (usually the faculty member who teaches this course) as well as other people you may need to talk to to “get” this course Here is an example of a row from my spread sheet: Rank of class - #1 Course number, name, and description: COM 436, Environmental Communication, Critical analysis of environmental discourse in organizational....etc. When class is taught (see #4*): When instructor is available, limited bases because it is a low enrollment course. Why you want to teach the course: This course is the topic of my main research interests, environmental communication. By teaching this course I will not only gain valuable experience in teaching the topics of my specialty, but I will also have the chance to learn from the students and grow a broader collection of materials related to my research. Justification as to why you are qualified: I am qualified to teach this course because I shadowed an undergraduate enviro com course at Washington State University as well as took Dr. Kinsella’s enviro com course last fall. I am also very read and experienced in the field, with over 10 years of applied experience, and feel prepared to teach the course. Additionally, this semester I am taking CRD 704 Technologies and Pedagogies in the Communication Arts and I plan on using this time to make a variation of the course Dr. Kinsella teaches for undergrad enviro com, that would integrate new technologies in enviro communications, as well as marketing and behavior change initiatives. I believe these revisions will be appealing to students and help increase enrollment. Professor “in charge” of the course: Dr. Kinsella, need approval from Dr. Zagacki. Once you have made this list, you will want to contact the professor in charge. If you do not know who is in charge of the course(s) contact the head of the department. Meet with the professor and find out when the course is usually offered*. Present them with your justifications as to why you think teaching the course will advance you professionally and why you are qualified. If they think you need more experience, they may ask you to shadow or help them in their class, or even take the graduate level equivalent of the class. Follow through Depending on the circumstances you may not be able to teach the class you want until your third or fourth year. If you have completed all the requirements to show you are qualified and the professor trusts you, they will vie for your with the department head to teach the course. Stick with it and you will be rewarded. I have used this strategy in my masters and PhD and have now (in my second year) taught 7 different courses in my MA and PhD programs mostly in areas of my interest - Eli Typhina *Note: Although the course listings in the links above have a time frame, this is often incorrect and outdated - for example, according to the website the enviro com course is offered every other year, but in reality it is only offered when an instructor is available Research Assistantship Summary of Section Please see the section four of the Graduate School handbook for details about assistantships: http://www.ncsu.edu/grad/handbook/sections/index.php. Details 1. Definition: The Graduate School Handbook gives two descriptions of a graduate teaching assistant’s tasks: a. directly participates in the teaching mission of the unit as instructor of record, lab instructor, recitation leader, lab or lecture assistant, or who has responsibilities in direct support of classroom instruction in the unit, such as setting up labs or working in an instructional computer lab; or b. provides general support to the teaching mission of the department or program. 2. Eligibility: You must be in good academic standing (3.000 grade point average or higher), unless you have approval from the the Graduate School.. 3. Time Commitment: Research assistantships are usually 20 hours per week if you have a full-time assistantship appointment. You can also work less than 20 per week. Additionally, research assistantships may be for an entire year, semester, summer session, or shorter durations. The duration of the research assistantship decides on the work and funding available. For example, some research assistantships may be funded for $300 as opposed to for an entire year. ''4. ''Benefits: Research assistantships are typically the same pay as your teaching assistantship. Some assistantships may vary in pay according to the terms of your agreement and amount of funding available. Research assistantships allows you to gain research experience, such as publishing work, while maintaining focus on your goals to complete your degree and advance in your disciplinary area. 5. Finding a Research Assistantship: There are three ways to find a research assistantship: 1) Approach faculty you interested in working with and inquire about whether they may be interested in having you as a research assistant or if they are aware of any opportunities; 2) Discuss your research assistant aims with your Program Advisor or Faculty Advisor to determine if they may be able assist you with finding an opportunity; or 3) Check the NC State jobs database by searching for “research assistant” or doing a general search through the jobs available. Peer Advice: What Works/What Doesn't First of all, begin your search early. Second of all, check your sources often. Finally, make sure the you and professor or principal investigator are clear on any expectations. Core Courses/Key Curriculum Requirements Summary of Section The core courses are required classes for all students in the CRDM program independently of their area of research. The courses were designed to provide a common base of knowledge about new communication technologies, and to prepare students to integrate the subject into their particular areas of research. Description of core courses Only doctoral students in the CRDM program are allowed to enroll in CRDM core courses. All courses are 3 units, and are offered only in the fall, except 790 which is generally offered in the spring. The courses are usually taken with the students in your cohort, with the exception of part-time students who may join a particular cohort outside their own. Core courses are spread throughout a period of two years. Students must enrolled in these courses within the specified semesters, otherwise they risk falling behind schedule. The courses are described as follows: '''CRD 701''' '''History and Theory of Communication Technology''' One of two core courses taken on the first semester, this seminar is designed to provide a summary of critical developments on the history of communication technologies. The course covers a span of time from pre-history and orality to present-day theoretical perspectives including: post-representational media theory, post-humanism, media ecology, mobility and space, and the recent turn to materiality. Some of the texts used in this course include Peters’ ''Speaking into the Air: A History of the Idea of Communication''; Walter Ong’s ''Orality and Literacy'': ''The Technologizing of the Word.'' Galloway & Thacker’s ''The Exploit: A Theory of'' Networks''; Kittler’s ''Optical media''.'' Hansen’s, ''Bodies in code''; Fuller’s ''Media ecologies'': ''Materialist energies in art and technoculture;''.and Packer & Wiley’s, ''Communication matters:'' Materialist approaches to media, mobility, and networks''.'' '''CRD 702''' '''Rhetoric and Digital Media''' The second of the first two core courses taken during the first semester, this seminar focuses on rhetoric and its application to digital communication and digital media. Topics comprise a wide range of concepts including: conceptual vocabulary of both classical and contemporary rhetoric, digital media and communication artifacts, approaches to research and criticism of digital communication and digital media, major trends and works in current rhetorical theory and criticism. Books used in this course may include Howard’s ''The Digital Origins of Dictatorship and'' Democracy: Information Technology and Political Islam''; Jasinski’s ''Sourcebook on Rhetoric: Key Concepts in Contemporary Rhetorical Studies''; Lanham’s ''The Economics of Attention'': ''Style and Substance in the Age of Information''; Warnick’s ''Rhetoric Online: Persuasion and Politics on the World Wide Web'';'' and, Welch’s ''Electric Rhetoric: Classical'' Rhetoric''.'' If taken with Dr. Zagacki, be prepared to finish a 20-page seminar paper and immediately begin working on a final exam (10 questions, answers be one-page per question, single-spaced) to be completed in three days. '''CRD 703''' '''Communication in Networked Society''' The only core course available in your second semester, this seminar focuses on the origins, operations, purposes and consequences of communication in the networked society. This is to be accomplished through the lens of social and psychological theory. Mainly the course focuses on two particular theoretical frameworks, Actor Network Theory, and Activity Theory. Through these theories, students are expected to describe the role of communication in forming and maintaining communication networks, the social implications of these networks locally and globally, and to design and carry out research projects that employ those theories and properly apply empirical research methods related to them. Texts required for this course may include: Callon’s ''Acting in an Uncertain'' World: An Essay on Technical Democracy''; Kaptelinin’s ''Acting with Technology: Activity Theory and Interaction Design'';'' Latour’s ''The Pasteurization of France''; Spinuzzi’s ''Network: Theorizing Knowledge'' Work in Telecommunicaitions''; and, Weinbergers’ ''Everything is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder''.'' '''CRD 704''' '''Technologies and Pedagogies in the Communication Arts''' This seminar focuses on the transformations of teaching and learning via the use of new technologies in the traditional classroom, and how these new technologies can be applied to online instruction. In addition, the course explores the intense changes that new technologies create in listening, reading, writing, and speaking. Depending on the instructor, this course may focus more on the history of technological application in the pedagogical context, than on present and future applications. Also depending on the instructor, the seminar may or may not require textbooks. Instructors who use no textbooks rely on articles from academic journals, scientific reports and book chapters available online. Instructors who use textbooks, may include the following: xxx '''CRD 790''' '''Issues in Communication, Rhetoric, and Digital Media''' This is the last of all core courses and must be taken only after enrolling on all the courses listed above. The seminar focuses on problems and issues of interdisciplinarity as it pertains to digital media. The course also emphasis collaborative research projects drawing on multiple disciplinary and methodological perspectives. In addition, this seminar serves as a venue to hone in and refine ideas and objectives pertaining to your dissertation, and to ask questions about the dissertation process overall. Readings for this course include Michel Foucault’s ''Language and Politics''; Thomas Kuhn’s ''The Structure of Scientific'' Discourse''; Stephen Toulmin’s ''Human Understanding'': ''The Collective Use and Evolution''; The Oxford Handbook of Interdisciplinarity; and NSF’s ''Rebuilding the Mosaic: Fostering Research in the Social Behavioral and Economic Sciences in the National Science Foundation in the Next Decade''. A wide range of journal articles available online are'' also reviewed. Requirements '''Research Methods.''' In addition to the core courses, CRDM requires its students to take 3 hours of qualitative research methods and 3 hours of quantitative research methods. Several choices exist outside the traditional courses in this area that qualify for this requirement, such as Usability Studies, Empirical Research, and Discourse Analysis '''Electives. '''Twelve hours of electives are required for program completion. These electives can include courses from other departments and institutions. Electives offer students the opportunity to gain additional proficiency in their area of research. A student who, for example, has an interest in health research, may choose to enroll in inter-institutional electives at a different university were courses in this area may abound. Electives are also a great opportunity to gain the knowledge students need for their preliminary exams, since at least one of the questions in the exams will be related to the student’s research subject area. '''Professional Preparation.''' Courses in this area ensure that students are exposed to current professional issues in industry and academia. The 6 required hours, include hours in pedagogy (704 counts) and 3 hours of colloquium – all of which are program requirements that students should have completed by the end of the first semester in their third year. '''Peer Advice: What works/what doesn’t''' According to various sources of information on the CRDM program, electives are to be chosen with the help of advisor and dissertation committee. But, in reality, only the advisor may help since many students are not done with the selection of a dissertation committee until the end of their second year. In addition to recommendations from their advisors, students should seek peer advice from CRDMers at more advance stages. It is common for program participants to be proactive about finding peer mentors and getting recommendations from peers about everything from course work to job hunting. Therefore, the peer socialization process in the program is of great importance. It is also highly recommended that students build relationships outside the Communication and English Departments, especially in an interdisciplinary program like CRDM. Taking courses or collaborating with people from outside the field, provides students with networking opportunities that may result in additional grant funding, letters of recommendation, and even job prospects. Choosing Electives Summary of Section Details Choosing electives in CRDM is a very open process. As long as you have completed both a qualifying quantitative and qualitative methods course - ''one'' of which can be carried over from your master’s program, see HERE - you can select virtually any courses at NC State as your electives. As there is no set procedure for selecting the electives you will take, conjectural information will be provided below in the “Peer Advice” subsection. Inter-Institutional Registration: From the Inter-Institutional Registration Program’s Site: The Inter-Institutional Registration Program is a voluntary organization comprised of NC State University, Duke, North Carolina Central University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and University of North Carolina at Greensboro for the purpose of developing and conducting Inter-Institutional educational activities. The program provides the opportunity for students to enroll at another institution for a course or courses not offered on their home campus. Other activities include a Inter-Institutional library arrangement, joint student activities, and faculty cooperation and interchange. You can find the contact information for the conductor of this program at each institution HERE. You can find the policies for inter-institutional registration HERE. In essence, you begin by browsing the schedule of courses at each university - you can find UNC-Chapel Hill’s HERE and Duke’s HERE - in order to find courses you might be interested in registering for. Following that, you ought to contact the professors of the courses you’ve selected in order to gain more information about the course content, its availability, and any prerequisites. You will also need to get confirmation from the professor that you are allowed to register for the course (n.b., this can be obtained via email, printed out, and attached to the registration form). Once you have selected a course and gotten permission to register, you need to fill out THIS form and attach some documentation of permission to join the course to it. You then turn these materials over to Vicki Gallagher - or whoever happens to be working the desk in Caldwell 106. Peer Advice: What works/what doesn’t When choosing electives, it helps to explore both the scheduled courses and the course catalogs of a variety of departments across our university and participating inter-institutional universities. Many other departments welcome CRDM students into their graduate courses. People in the Computer Science, Design, and History departments at NC State have been particularly enthusiastic about having us in their courses. Some courses may have prerequisites, especially in departments that deal with harder sciences and build their courses to facilitate linear progressions. Most professors will get back to you in a timely manner and give you more information about what they expect students to be familiar with, how you might go about familiarizing yourself with the subject if you haven’t already, what sorts of projects and work they expect from students, etc. It is often the case that if you plan far enough in advance by browsing the course catalog - as opposed to only the upcoming semester’s schedule of courses - that you can audit the prerequisites and prepare yourself for courses further outside our discipline. Another consideration is your eventual dissertation project. It is usually wise to make sure you have worked with a professor before asking them to serve on your committee. This will allow you to demonstrate to them your skills and professional persona, which will make them more comfortable deciding whether or not to serve on your committee. It will also give you a chance to familiarize yourself with their work, their responsiveness to your work, their style of feedback, and other factors that might affect your decision about having them on your committee. In short, it is usually better if you and/or a faculty member can figure out how well you work together before, rather than after, they have joined your committee. In terms of dissertation work, as this is a four-year degree in conception, it is always useful to take elective courses as related to your dissertation project as possible - whether that relation is theoretical, methodological, topical, practical, etc. This will allow you to work through texts that will eventually be on your reading lists and to prepare draft chapters or reworkable fragments that can be incorporated into your dissertation project. Finally, a bit of practical advice would be that Duke usually releases their schedule of courses about two weeks after UNC schools. This means that you will often already have had your advising hold lifted and be shopping for courses, and, as such, you can often gain access to courses there that would otherwise fill up by filing your registration form as soon after the schedule is released as possible. Choosing an advisor You’ll begin to think about looking for an advisor during your first semester of your first year, but the search should start in earnest during second semester. A reasonable goal is to have an advisor in mind by the end of first semester second year, although the search can take you into second semester of second year. The best way to begin looking for an advisor is to read faculty profile pages and find faculty whose interests seem to match your own in some fashion. You will also get to know faculty through core courses and electives, or you may have been drawn to the CRDM program because of a faculty member (or a few) whose work you have read. It is a good idea to begin reaching out to those faculty members via email during the first semester and scheduling short “get-to-know-you” meetings to see how things go. Keon Pettiway sends an agenda of points or topics to cover during the meeting; all students should send a short biographical background description with a summary of your potential research interests and how they might share some commonalities with the faculty member with whom you are meeting. You may want to plan on taking a class with a faculty member if you have shared interests but have not had the opportunity to take a class with that person. This will give you a better feel for that person’s instructional and feedback style, which will help you decide if that faculty member is a good “fit” for you. When you have narrowed down some of your choices, you may want to ask your peers or people in the cohorts ahead of you about the faculty member’s work style. You will want to choose an advisor whose work habits are compatible with your own. Are you hyper-organized? Do you have a more casual approach? Do you handle intense critiquing well, or do you need someone with a gentler touch? Are you going to need someone with plenty of time to give you a lot of guidance (if so, make sure this person’s schedule can accommodate that)? Or do you work well independently (if so, make sure your potential advisor is also comfortable with that arrangement)? These are things to consider. There are as many ways to find an advisor as there are advisor/advisee pairings. Some people just seem to “fall” into advisor/advisee relationships; for others, it takes a lot of work and planning. Eli Typhina made a spreadsheet with potential advisors, their areas of interests, and her areas of research. She then used this to compose letters communicating with those faculty members about become members of her committee; eventually this was how she chose her advisor as well. Advisory committee Summary of section Your committee will help you to: ● Define a topic for your dissertation research ● Establish areas for your preliminary examination ● Develop exam reading lists & a plan of work It’s members will consist of (at least four members): your chair must be a CRDM affiliate; your committee must include one English and one Communication faculty member; your fourth member may come from another institution. Additional details can be found here. Peer Advice: Think about areas of potential methodological / theoretical conflict between your committee members. In an oversimplified sense, one committee member is primarily responsible for one exam area; in practice, there will be many areas of overlap where more than one committee member will have a stake in the matter. Consider beforehand where these areas will be, and whether the perspectives of the committee members are commensurate within said area; if not, either be prepared to absorb both sides of the conversation into your reading list (generally at the expense of other readings), or firmly establish yourself on one of those two sides. Working with the committee entails more than just readings, consider the level of feedback each member has provided you with in the past, the other obligations they are currently under (which will directly affect their capacity to work with you along the process), as well as how each of their work styles relates to your own. Weight your selection with considerations of compatibility and availability in addition to considerations of area expertise. Ensure that you have one committee member, typically (but not always) your chair, who is very deadline oriented. We work on a very fast moving timeline; it is immensely beneficial to have someone on your committee who will encourage you to develop (and keep to) an aggressive schedule for getting your reading lists assembled and exams completed. Plan of Work After 18 credit hours of coursework have been taken, all PhD students must submit a Plan of Work to the Graduate School. The Plan of Work should be developed with the help of the student’s advisory committee, and includes three key items: (1) a list of courses each PhD student plans to undertake in their remaining years, (2) a dissertation topic, and (3) approval from their advisory committee and Director of the Graduate Program The final deadline to submit the Plan of Work is before the [http://www.ncsu.edu/grad/faculty-and-staff/forms-list.html Request to Schedule Oral Preliminary Examination], though it is advisable to complete it much sooner (sometime during the second year, Fall semester). A Plan of Work is submitted through MyPack through the “for students” tab. The link to submit is listed under “Academics”→ “Academic Records”→”Graduate Plan of Work.” Helpful Links: * [http://mediasite.online.ncsu.edu/online/Play/85daa97cd88647af909dc713456d799e1d Video Guide for Creating Plan of Work] * [http://www.ncsu.edu/grad/faculty-and-staff/student-help-links.html#pow Plan of Work Guidelines from Graduate School] * [http://www.ncsu.edu/grad/handbook/sections/3.3-plan-of-work.html Graduate Handbook Entry for Plan of Work] Dissertation topic Summary of section Details Peer Advice: What Works/What Doesn't Preliminary exams Summary of section Details Peer Advice: What Works/What Doesn't Dissertation prospectus Summary of section Details Peer Advice: What Works/What Doesn't Dissertation Summary of section Details Peer Advice: What Works/What Doesn't Dissertation Defense Summary of section Details Peer Advice: What Works/What Doesn't =